Peripheral Neuropathy - Causes

Causes

The causes are broadly grouped as follows:

• Genetic diseases: Friedreich's ataxia, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy
• Metabolic/endocrine: diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, porphyria, amyloidosis, liver failure, hypothyroidism
• Toxic causes: Drugs (vincristine, metronidazole, phenytoin, nitrofurantoin, isoniazid, ethyl alcohol, statins), organic metals, heavy metals, excess intake of vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine)
• Fluoroquinolone toxicity: Irreversible neuropathy is a serious adverse reaction of fluoroquinolone drugs
• Inflammatory diseases: Guillain-Barré syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosis, leprosy, Multiple Sclerosis, Sjögren's syndrome, Lyme Disease, sarcoidosis,
• Vitamin deficiency states: Vitamin B₁₂ (Methylcobalamin), vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin B₁ (thiamin)
• Physical trauma: compression, pinching, cutting, projectile injuries (i.e. gunshot wound), strokes including prolonged occlusion of blood flow, electric discharge, including lightning strikes
• Others: shingles, malignant disease, HIV, radiation, chemotherapy

Many of the diseases of the peripheral nervous system may present similarly to muscle problems (myopathies), and so it is important to develop approaches for assessing sensory and motor disturbances in patients so that a physician may make an accurate diagnosis.